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Hardship Fund - The Warwick Hardship Fund for Medical and PGCE Students- Post-Triage

The Warwick Hardship Fund for Medical and PGCE Students

Post-triage

Hardship Funding

This webpage is for home Medical and PGCE students who have been advised to make an application to the Warwick Hardship Fund (WHF) following a triage appointment with one of our Student Funding Advisers.

We cannot consider WHF applications from students who have not undergone a triage appointment. For more information regarding triage, please see our WHF MBChB and PGCE Pre-triageLink opens in a new window webpage.


The Warwick Hardship Fund (WHF)

WHF Process

WHF Applications

WHF Appointments

WHF Assessment and Outcomes

Further Information

Contact Us and Useful Links


The Warwick Hardship Fund (WHF)

The WHF is a fund of last resort to help home students who are experiencing short-term financial difficulty. The fund is designed to help these students with their essential living costs and some course-related costs (e.g. accommodation, childcare, transport, books, utilities etc).

  • The funds available are limited and cannot be used to help with tuition fee costs or to provide any high-value, ongoing support.
  • Awards from the WHF are needs-related and non-repayable.
  • As the WHF is a fund of last resort, students must be able to demonstrate that they have made every effort to meet their needs from any other available sources.

Applications to the WHF can include those that are primarily for students seeking financial assistance with payment of their:

  • £200 Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) Equipment Contribution
  • Diagnostic Test Reimbursement

Applications to the WHF for these purposes are treated in the same manner as applications to the WHF when a student is struggling to meet their essential living costs (i.e., these applications will be means tested and awards are therefore not guaranteed).


WHF Process

Below you will find a flowchart which outlines the basic process of the WHF. This process is the same as the International Students' Emergency Fund (ISEF) for International and European Union students.

WHF/ISEF Flowchart

WHF Applications

Your invitation to apply to the WHF is only valid for 4 weeks from the day you receive this via email. Any submissions made after this 4-week deadline will be rejected as you will need to first re-attend a triage meeting. If you are a final year student, then your date of submission must not be within 5 weeks of your course end date.


Applications to the WHF are made via an online form. You will need to be logged into your University account whilst completing the form to be able to submit.

The links to the application forms, depending on your personal situation, can be found below:

You will be able to save the above applications to return to at a later date, if required.


WHF Appointments

Once we have received your application form and supporting documentation, we will contact you to arrange a short, confidential appointment with a Student Funding Adviser.

  • Appointments take approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  • Appointments are informal and will give you the opportunity to discuss your individual needs and circumstances in detail.
  • Appointments are conducted via Microsoft Teams.
    • However, if you would prefer to attend a face-to-face appointment then please let us know via email ( ) and we will try to accommodate your request.
  • Once your appointment has been booked, you will receive a confirmation email with full details of your appointment.

You will be required to email evidence of your up-to-date balances (for all accounts held in your name and, if applicable, all accounts held in your partner's name), on the day of your appointment.

  • You can send these via email to
  • As this will only include one screenshot per bank account, in this instance, we will accept screenshots.
  • These screenshots must include identifiable information.

Please be assured that your Student Funding Adviser will consider your best interests at all stages of the application and assessment process. However, you should be aware that all of our Student Funding Advisers work within guidance issued by the National Association of Student Money Advisers (NASMA) for the assessment of awards and distribution of funds.

It may be necessary during your appointment to refer to your bank statements, credit history and spending patterns (and if applicable, it may be necessary to refer to your partner's bank statements and evidence). The discussion may also explore opportunities for part-time work and other funding opportunities that may be available to you. Any questions are not intended to be intrusive, but instead, allow your Student Funding Adviser to form a complete and comprehensive assessment of your financial situation and, if possible, to recommend a successful outcome to your application.

During your appointment, it may become clear that further evidence will be required to complete your assessment. Your Student Funding Adviser will request this of you, should this be the case. You can submit this via email to


WHF Assessment and Outcomes

After your appointment, your Student Funding Adviser will create a report based on your appointment and assessment. This is then submitted to the Student Funding Manager for review and approval. The Student Funding Manager will also consider your best interests and works within NASMA guidelines for the assessment of awards and distribution of funds.

Providing we have received all your required documentation prior to your appointment, you will be notified of the outcome of your application via email within 10 working days.

  • If your application has been successful, any award will be paid within a further 10 working days from receipt of your outcome email (providing you follow the instructions in the outcome email to submit your bank details promptly).
  • Please note, we can only make payment into UK bank accounts or some digital accounts.
  • We cannot make payments in cash.

Your outcome email will outline how your award will be paid. This may be paid as:

  • A one-off instalment directly into your bank account.
  • Multiple instalments directly into your bank account.
  • Credit to a charge on your university account.

The £200 DSA Equipment Contribution award may be paid as:

  • A one-off instalment directly into your bank account.
    • This is the case for students who have paid the £200 DSA Equipment Contribution themselves, in the first instance.
    • These students will be required to upload bank details for both the WHF and the £200 DSA Equipment Contribution fund separately. These students will be sent two different emails with instructions explaining how to do this.
  • Credit to your university account.
    • This is the case for students who requested that the University's Disability Team pay the £200 DSA Equipment Contribution on their behalf, in the first instance.
    • These students would have had the £200 subsequently added to their University account as a debt to be repaid by the end of the academic year.
    • These students who are eligible for a £200 DSA Equipment Contribution reimbursement, will have this reimbursement credited to their University account to clear this debt.

Further Information

Awards from the WHF may have implications on your entitlement to UK Government means-tested benefits. If you receive an award from the WHF, you can request a document from Student Funding Support to present to the relevant body explaining the circumstances of your award (including the amount).

UK Government means-tested benefits include (not exhaustive):

  • Income Support
  • Income-based Job Seekers' Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Housing Benefit
  • Council Tax Reduction
  • Working Tax Credit
  • Pension Credit
  • Universal Credit